MBB Small College Recap: UT-Tyler's Darius Alford drops 25 in win over Concordia

Division II

IN THE RANKINGS:

New rankings were not available this week.

West Texas A&M was ranked No. 13 in last week’s NCAA DII NABC Coaches’ Poll. The Buffs did not play any games last week. WT travels to Las Vegas this week to play in the Las Vegas Hoopla. The Buffs play Washburn and Pittsburg State before taking their Christmas break.

St. Edward’s entered the rankings last week at No. 24. The Hilltoppers lost an exhibition game to Rice 78-73 last Thursday. SEU then defeated NCAA DIII Schreiner 96-71 on Saturday. The Hilltoppers play Western New Mexico this week before they begin their Christmas break.

CHRISTMAS BREAK:

The final extended break of the season begins this week as every team from the Lone Star Conference and the Heartland Conference will take a break from playing basketball games from Dec. 20 through Dec. 28. Play will resume on Dec. 29 and will continue through conference tournaments in March.

Hall was one of the top players at the Las Vegas Hoopla this week averaging 20.5 points per contest going 16-of-31 (.516) from the floor and 6-of-12 (.500) from three point range to go along with 5.5 assists and 4.0 rebounds per game as 13th ranked West Texas A&M went 2-0 at the Centennial Hills Community Center. In Monday’s overtime thriller against Washburn, the 5-foot-11 guard had 18 points going 8-of-18 from the floor. He saved his best for Tuesday’s contest against the Gorillas of Pittsburg State with 23 points going a career-best 6-of-8 from beyond the arc as WT overcame a 16-point first half deficit to improve to 4-0 against MIAA competition this season. He also dished out a season-high nine assists with only one turnover.

Momoh was a big part of CU's 2-1 record last week with wins against Lubbock Christian and UAFS and a tough loss against Rogers State. He averaged 13.7 points, 4.7 rebounds, 3.7 assists, and two steals during the three-game span. The CU senior opened up the week with 17 points, three steals, five assists and four rebounds against a tough LCU team. All three of Momoh’s steals and 13 of his points came in the Black and Gold's second half comeback. He followed that up with a 14 point, six rebound, four assists, three steals, and one block performance in the win over UAFS. Momoh is currently 13th in the LSC in scoring, third in assists, 22nd in rebounding, and second in steals.

AROUND THE CONFERENCE:

Angelo State – Did not play last week.

Dallas Baptist – Won vs No. 11 Southern Nazarene 79-78

Lubbock Christian – Lost at Cameron 88-77

Midwestern State – Did not play last week.

St. Edward’s – Lost at Rice 78-73; Won vs Schreiner 96-71

St. Mary’s – Won vs Western New Mexico 91-56

Tarleton State – Won vs Arlington Baptist 81-59

Texas A&M-Commerce – Did not play last week.

Texas A&M International – Did not play last week.

Texas A&M-Kingsville – Won vs Arkansas Tech 80-70

UT Permian Basin – Did not play last week.

West Texas A&M – Did not play last week.

GAMES TO WATCH:

No games due to Christmas break.

Division III

FINAL BREAK:

Every team in the American Southwest Conference and the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference will take their final extended break of the season next week. The ASC will play their final games before Christmas on Dec. 21 and will resume play on Dec. 28. The SCAC will also play their final game before the break on Dec. 21 but will continue action one day later on Dec. 29. This will be the final extended break for most teams until the end of the season.

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK:

American Southwest Conference:

EAST DIVISION PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Darius Alford, Fr., G, UT Tyler

UT Tyler freshman guard Darius Alford (Houston, Texas) propelled the Patriots to a 97-87 win at Concordia Texas with 25 points and four steals to go with a rebound and a blocked shot. He shot 53.8 percent (7-of-13) from the field, was 3-for-5 from outside and 8-of-9 from the line.

WEST DIVISION PLAYER OF THE WEEK – LaKendric Hyson, Sr., G, Mary Hardin-Baylor

Mary Hardin-Baylor senior guard LaKendric Hyson (Hearne, Texas) had 27 points and nine rebounds to lead the Cru to a 107-72 win over Ozarks. He shot 56 percent (9-of-16) from the field and was 9-of-11 from the line, while also recording an assist, a block and a steal.

Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference:

JUSTICE MERCADEL OF AUSTIN COLLEGE, a sophomore guard from Little Elm, Texas, has been named the SCAC Men’s Basketball Player of the Week for games played from Monday, December 10 through Sunday, December 16.

Mercadel had an outstanding week for Austin College, averaging 24.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, 6.0 assists, and 1.5 steals-per-game while shooting 65 percent from the field and 88 percent from the free throw line. Mercadel led the ‘Roos to a 2-0 week as he scored 26 against Paul Quinn and followed that up with 23 in a win over Hendrix. He flirted with a triple double against PQC, adding nine rebounds and seven assists in that victory.

Cory Hogue is Dave Campbell's Texas Basketball small college correspondent follow him on Twitter at @HoagieSports and be sure to visit his website (linked below) for more coverage of Division II and Division III collegiate athletics.